Mizoram declared insurgency-free after last militant group surrenders

Mizoram became “insurgency-free” on Thursday as the last remaining ethnic insurgent group laid down arms, chief minister Lalduhoma said.
A faction of the Hmar People’s Convention (Democratic), or HPC(D), led by Lalhmingthanga Sanate, had remained largely dormant in recent years but was involved in sporadic criminal activities, officials said. It was considered the state’s last active insurgent outfit.
HPC(D) had been demanding an autonomous district council for the Hmar community. A total of 43 cadres, including Sanate, surrendered at a “homecoming and arms-laying ceremony” at Sesawng near Aizawl. The event followed a peace accord signed on April 14 between the state government and the HPC(D), formally ending insurgency in Mizoram.
Lalduhoma said the HPC(D) had long cast a shadow over the state’s peace narrative. “We approached negotiations with an open heart. Today, we have reached our goal and can proudly say Mizoram is truly peaceful,” he said.
He urged unity among Mizo tribes, saying no subgroup should place itself above a shared identity. “We will thrive only through unity,” he said.
The chief minister, a former IPS officer who resigned decades ago to mediate during the Mizo insurgency, said peace came at a high cost and praised the cadres for laying down arms.
Officials said the HPC began as a political movement in 1986 seeking an autonomous council under the Sixth Schedule but turned insurgent in 1987. A 1994 accord led to the Sinlung Hills Development Council, though dissenters later formed the HPC(D).
A split in 2011 created rival factions; one signed a 2018 accord. Sanate’s faction entered talks in 2024, culminating in Thursday’s surrender.